Alicia Witt, with Ben Folds, to perform at Mechanics Hall

Thursday

Dec 27, 2012 at 6:00 AMDec 30, 2012 at 9:44 AM

Worcester native Alicia Witt has been seen in internationally acclaimed movies and on groundbreaking TV since she was a precocious child prodigy. On Dec. 31, the 37-year-old Witt, who now lives in Los Angeles, will perform two 40-minute sets at Mechanics Hall in an appearance presented by First Night Worcester.

By Richard Duckett TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Worcester native Alicia Witt has been seen in internationally acclaimed movies and on groundbreaking TV since she was a precocious child prodigy. Her musical career as a singer-songwriter, however, has been carefully developing and maturing with appearances in relatively small settings over the past four years.

No grand entrances, you might say. But New Year's Eve can be another matter, especially when you find yourself back home.

On Dec. 31, the 37-year-old Witt, who now lives in Los Angeles, will perform two 40-minute sets at Mechanics Hall in an appearance presented by First Night Worcester. “I'm really excited,” Witt said. “It's definitely the biggest show I've played.”

At Mechanics Hall (which can seat between 1,200 and 1,500) Witt will sing and play piano and be joined by singer-songwriter (and bassist for this occasion) Ben Folds and drummer Ray Rizzo. Performance times for the two sets are 10 p.m. and approximately 11 p.m. (with time for her and the audience to leave the hall and gather at City Hall Plaza to watch the midnight fireworks). Witt said she'll play mostly her compositions, with perhaps a cover or two. Her EP included a surprising and appealing interpretation of Paul Simon's “You Can Call Me Al.”

Folds reunited this year with his group Ben Folds Five after a break of more than a decade. The band released a new album, “The Sound of the Life of the Mind,” in September.

Folds and Witt have collaborated on several projects in recent months. Witt opened for Ben Folds Five at Brixton Academy, London, earlier this month. The pair also co-wrote a song for her upcoming film “Pasadena,” set for release this spring.

This is Witt's first public performance in Worcester since both hitting the big time as an actress and becoming a performer of her own music. “I usually come to Worcester to say hello,” she said of seeing family and friends. “Then they come to my shows in Boston.

Witt appeared in the movie “Dune” when she was 8, and among her notable films are “88 Minutes” (playing opposite Al Pacino), “Two Weeks Notice” and “Mr. Holland's Opus.” TV shows have included “Cybill,” “Law and Order” and a well-regarded appearance on “The Sopranos.”

Witt is also a classically trained pianist and has said that four or five years ago she found that songs started calling to her to be written. A friend who heard them told her she needed to start playing them someplace other than her living room.

Without any musical representation, she has opened for acts, released a self-titled EP, and coordinated a Kickstarter.com campaign that successfully financed her recent album, “Live at Rockwood.”

Rockwood Music Hall in New York City seats about 300 people. A recent appearance by Witt at the 12 Bar Club in London saw her performing at a famous location, but one that seats 150. Similarly, she's nurtured her music at intimate venues such as Hotel Cafe and Universal Citywalk in Los Angeles, Joe's Pub and The Living Room in New York, and Cafe 939 at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

In an earlier story it was observed that her songs can riff sharply, as in an angry-sounding but cathartic statement about a broken relationship. Elsewhere, the feel can be sometimes jazzy and poignant

All the while, Witt has felt her music growing stronger. “It's kind of an ever-changing field,” she said. The music has been getting noticed — and receiving notices. Last year she was on the cover of Sound and Vision, and the story and Q&A focused more on the sound, as in the songs (although there was a nice visual photo spread). “You feel fine. You feel free. You are grooving. That's what Alicia Witt's music is like,” the article said.

She has been a musical guest on the “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” and her music video for the single “Anyway” has played on MTVu and VH1.com.

Meanwhile, you can still definitely call Witt actress. She will be seen in several movies to be released in the months ahead, including “Pasadena” in which she co-stars with Cheryl Hynes and Peter Bogdanovich.

Although Witt was a child prodigy (she was reading at 9 months old, quoting Shakespeare before she was 2, tested at the college level at 4, was playing the piano at 7 and winning piano competitions six months later), the determination Witt brings to her music these days obviously has its roots in a longstanding, deliberate, purposeful approach to acting and, more than likely, everything else she ever done.

As Witt put it during a recent telephone interview from Los Angeles, “I like keeping busy and I like having very little free time.”

She said she has recently been writing a screenplay adaptation of a novel she acquired the rights to about a married woman going through a midlife crisis. Witt has been working on the script with the view of playing the role of the woman herself, she said.

“It's a very competitive industry,” Witt said of the drive needed to keep a career alive. Some performers sit and wait for the telephone to ring, Witt observed. “You can't do that. You have to have a lot of creativity and be proactive.”

The Kickstarter.com (a website that tries to match artists and their projects with prospective backers) campaign was so successful it not only got “Live at Rockwood” released but is establishing a base for making a new studio album.

“You're not an island when you're a music maker,” Witt said.

Howard McGinn, executive director of First Night Worcester, said that Witt has gone out of her way to help promote the Mechanics Hall performances. “She's been super great to work with,” McGinn said.

It could just be that diligence runs in the family.

McGinn recalled that only a couple of days after taking up his new position as executive director earlier this year he got a call from Witt's mother, Diane Witt, who still lives in Worcester. “She said 'You should hire my daughter (to perform at for First Night).' ”

Alicia Witt was asked if that sounded like a true story.

“That's exactly what happened,” Witt said. “That's my mother. She had this idea that I should play First Night. She asked me first. Then she called me a few days later and said 'Well I spoke to him (McGinn) and he's real excited.' It's all thanks to my mother.”

The First Night shows won't be the first time Witt has performed at Mechanics Hall. She said that when she was about 11 or 12 she gave a piano recital as part of the Brown Bag concert series. She played a “a lot of classical and some pop arrangements.” Witt also attended performances at Mechanics Hall around that time. “I remember so fondly the feeling of attending those great classical symphony concerts,” she said.

Now she's back musically in her own write, so to speak.

“Playing at Mechanics Hall is really a big highlight for me,” Witt said.

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Witt's concert presented by First Night Worcester is a “button-plus” event, meaning that the show will have its own admission ticket ($15, $20 and VIP $35). Tickets include a free First Night Worcester button. For more information, visit www.firstnightworcester.org.